Digital show-and-tell: Facilitating young children's use of the web in preschool

Current perspectives on young children’s use of digital technology suggest that teachers in preschools need to provide effective guidance. However, there is little research to inform how guidance might be understood and practised. This paper employs an ethnomethodological perspective to examine recorded data of a young child and his teacher conducting a Web search to find and view a YouTube recording. Sequential analysis of interaction shows how the child, his teacher and other children accomplished their activity. Discussion encompasses how talk produced a show-and-tell about the recording, how connections were made between use of technology and children’s previous experiences, and how multiparty talk enabled everyone to engage with the Web activity.